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Note: This is a student project from a course affiliated
with the Ethnography of the University Initiative. EUI supports faculty development of courses
in which students conduct original research on their university, and encourages students to
think about colleges and universities in relation to their communities and within larger
national and global contexts.

The Bro Code: Examining the Relations Between the LGBT community and Fraternities on Campus

Description

The LGBT Resource Office on the University of Illinois campus runs a Greek Allies program to train members of Greek organizations to be allies for the LGBT community. Through interaction with the head of this program, it has been made apparent that there is tension between Fraternities and the LGBT/Gay community on campus. Further investigation found and underlying sense of masculinity that pervades fraternities may impede relations between fraternities and gay members. University diversity requirements do not allow discrimination based on sexual orientation, however, there are still instances of discrimination or general unease against or with the gay community on the part of fraternities on campus. To research this data, interviews with members and leaders of fraternity organizations and the LGBT resource office and community on campus will be conducted to see if the LGBT community is considered a part of the ideal of diversity for fraternities or not, and what affects this view. Archival research may also help to show steps that have or have not been made to improve relations between the two campus communities.

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Diversity on Campus/Equity and AccessThis collection examines ways in which the U.S. university and the American college experience are affected by diversity, and difference. In particular, these student projects examine experiences of diversity on campus, including important contemporary social, cultural, and political debates on equity and access to university resources.